The very first lung cancer screening study was released to the medical field four years ago.

"That was the first study to show the benefit of lung cancer screening," Mayuko Fukanaga of Maine Medical Center said.

Since then, doctors across the country, and at MMC, have been working on better ways to detect the disease in patients.Dr. Paul Han is part of a research team at MMC that won a grant from the Maine Cancer Foundation to develop a more specific screening process. They're working on creating a patient risk profile that could help pinpoint exactly who should undergo lung scans that involve a lot of radiation exposure and stress for patients.

"Lung cancer screening, although it's a very important intervention that can save lives, it really only helps people at the highest risk of lung cancer," Han said.

Doctors said they have to screen 1,000 people to prevent three lung cancer deaths, and 25 percent of those screened have false positive results.

"Some patients might look at a risk number and say, 'That feels high. I'm going to get screened.' And some might say, 'That's not for me,'" Han said.

They hope a new protocol will help change those statistics, and help shape the next generation of national research and detection.

"It's a little bit different a big research grant. I think it's more focused on what our patient needs in our community," Fukanaga said.

The 8th annual Tri For A Cure is Sunday at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.